I’ve been bursting at the seams to share some exciting news- we’re homeowner’s once again! FINALLY! We recently closed on this beautiful new home that we have been dreaming about for a year and a half.

It’s been a long time coming, a lot of griping about all the inconveniences of renting, a lot of anticipating, a lot of bill paying, and a lot of planning.

And it was so worth it!

It all started in March of 2016 with some innocent model home tours...

By the end of May that year we had walked through about 50 homes; some models, some in the middle of production, and some just finished and ready to be handed over to their owners.

We’d also spent countless hours combing through Zillow listings only to feel dissatisfied with all the existing homes in our price range and area.

We had a pretty long list of must haves between the two of us:

Significantly larger than our current 2192 sq ft rental; or at least a better layout that felt larger

Two stories

Bedrooms on the 2nd floor- so I can ignore them while prepping for parties

4 bedrooms, (parent’s plus one for each of our kids)

At least 2.5 bathrooms

A kitchen that was not a pass thru to other important/ frequently used rooms

A kitchen that was not closed off to other living spaces, and preferably one that looked out to the yard so I could watch the kids play while I prep food

A large island with seating

A sink that was undermounted and not next to a wall where water would get trapped and mold would grow relentlessly

1.5 inch Granite countertops

Pretty, painted Shaker style cabinets

A pantry that was larger and was NOT accessed via a sliding door (That damn thing was a pain to slide!)

A place for a wine fridge

A craft space large enough for my homemade crafting table, craft storage, and possibly a desk

A desk area on the first floor so I can pay bills while still being able to see all these crazy kids

A gaming space where a board game in progress can be left out

A loft for kids to enjoy their toys, TV, and gaming; separate and far from the adult/ main TV room so there’s no spillage

A place for a landing zone for all the kids’ shit

Better closet space than we have now (Which really wasn’t hard because our closets in the rental were tiny)

A place big enough to entertain our friends and all their children without bumping into someone every time ya need a drink refill

A place big enough to have our entire family over for holiday dinners (if we get lucky and everyone can make it, that’s at least 12 adults and 5 kids)

A backyard big enough to build a deck, house some custom furniture my husband wants to build, and possibly a pool

And perhaps most importantly- A THREE CAR GARAGE! (We need a bay for our home gym equipment, one bay for storage of our stuff {okay, my stuff} and my husband’s woodworking tools, and of course, a bay for a vehicle.)

Seemed like the only way we were going to get everything on that list at a price we could afford was to go with a new build. So that’s what we decided on.

Specifically, the Copper 2 Model from Taylor Morrison

Here’s a look at the floor plan. The first level:

And the second level:

I cannot tell you how long we poured over floor plans and scrutinized how our daily routine might look in each layout.

How long we spent using spreadsheets to rank and weigh our wish list items. (I’m not joking. My husband is an engineer. We had categories, sub-categories, and a scale rating of 1-5. This shit was serious.)

How many times we got frustrated that we were going to have to wait an entire year to get the process started. (We wanted to pay off my student loans first.)

But man, how sweet it is to call this new place home.

And to think, nine months ago it was just a patch of dirt.

I remember thinking it seemed crazy that, when we went to our design center appointment to chose the upgrades and details of the house, they hadn’t even broke ground yet. Hell, they hadn’t even gotten the “conditional yes” from the underwriting department yet! Sure, we had been pre- qualified, but it still felt out of order and we were a little hesitant to get too excited.

But soon, the hesitation gave way to excitement. Especially when we took the kiddies to the lot for the first time!

Construction began, with plumbing.

Next came the leveling.

Then the rebar…

And then the foundation. It sure looked tiny at this stage!

This was also the week much of the framing wood was delivered. (Our Mini-Van for scale.)

After that, the frame started going up. I teared up when we I first saw it. (The people who know me best were not surprised. It’s what I do.)

And it took shape so much faster than I was expecting.

Then they started getting plywood walls up and windows installed.

The next time we came back was a shock- this place was really starting to look like a house! I think it was that all the walls were up and the roof had been built.

And they pushed the sheetrock up through the studs onto the second floor. I counted 176 of ‘em.

The walls had whatever this white covering stuff is and most of the tiles were waiting on the roof. Not in place yet, but stacked up there...

...and a bunch of AC unit stuff was in. Along with some electrical upgrades like can lights and pre-wiring for ceiling fans.

When the installation went in my allergies went into overdrive.

But it wasn’t long before they got that sheetrock off of the floor and onto the studs.

They wasted no time getting the compound over those nail holes.

And before we knew it we had stucco on the exterior walls! And the scaffolding out front was gone.

Then they started delivering things like the doors, trim, and gravel.

By the next week that had painted most of the exterior and begun hanging the doors.

Then, suddenly, the texture was on the walls and the cabinetry was installed. I walked into my kitchen and tried not to cry; I was beyond excited!

The roof went up, the garage door and coach lights were installed, the block wall was built, the stone detail was added...

...and the tile went down. This was also when the builder started locking the house up and we had to go see our sales guy in the office to get the key for our weekly visits. (Notice the key in the door.)

By the following week, the pavers were installed out front, the balcony railing went up, the RV gate on the side of the house went in...

...the carpet was laid (check out those perfect vacuum lines!)…

...and the countertops had arrived. Along with my sink and faucet that I had been dreaming about since the moment I saw it it the options list! I teared up again. And had a stupid grin on my face all day long. We were getting close!

Actually, that was also the week the bathrooms were pretty much completed with sinks, toilets, shower walls, light fixtures, and hardware. Week 18 was a big week!

The following week we got to check out the new appliances. I started to daydream about the first thing I was going to prepare in this kitchen. (I had hoped it would be a big, fancy meal, but it ended up being a simple crockpot meal thrown together at the last minute because I hadn’t yet unpacked my pots and pans.)

And by the time we came for the closing walk, we finally had a front yard! And painted exterior doors! And shudders!

That day we walked around our home with the superintendent, placing blue tape on anything that needed a little fixing or TLC. We went wall by wall, room by room, inside and out. It took us 5 hours! And more than one gigantic roll of tape! But they happily fixed everything we asked them to.

A week later we finally closed! It was surreal, opening up front door to our new house the first time. We had a little toast over champagne and juice, and let the kids run around while we talked about what to do first.

And the very next day, we promptly got to work on our beautiful new home.

First up? Epoxy for the garage floor. Followed closely by sealing the grout and granite counters. (Not very glamorous. But I’m really glad we did these things.)

And getting boring things like that out of the way means I can get to the part where I share all of our fun, unique projects with you. Right after I finish unpacking more boxes than I have ever moved in my life...Stay tuned!

Happy home owning and project planning, friends. And whatever you make, make it yours!

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